Target Industries

The Western Whiteside area has historically been based almost exclusively on agriculture and manufacturing activities. Although the agricultural sector remains a primary source of economic output, it has declined as a significant employer as technological advancements and consolidation of farming operations have made it more capital intensive. The economic transformation of the U.S. and global manufacturing sector has led to the closure or reduction of several manufacturing operations in the region.

Even as some of the local economic mainstays have faded, other sectors such as healthcare, education, and business services have provided new job opportunities. The manufacturing sector, while still employing nearly a quarter of the workforce, has declined significantly in the past decade. At the same time education, healthcare, and social services have grown rapidly and are projected to exceed the manufacturing sector by 2015.

The transportation and warehousing, and utilities sector is another group that, currently small in employment, has grown rapidly in the past decade as logistics and distribution companies have taken advantage of the region’s road, rail, and river connections.

Whiteside County maintained high employment concentrations in the Electrical Equipment, Appliance, Component Manufacturing, and Fabricated Metal Products Manufacturing sectors during from 2002-2009. To a lesser extent, Educational Services, General Merchandise Stores, and Nursing and Residential Care Facilities also remained high employment concentrations. The strong presences of these industries suggest that they are especially well-suited to the area in terms of market access and/or business cost conditions and may be desirable recruitment or expansion prospects.

Source:Assessing Economic Opportunities in Western Whiteside County

Major Employers in Morrison
Business	Type of Business	# of employees
Whiteside County	County Government	300
Morrison Community Hospital	Medical Services	176
Morrison Unit District 6	Education	158
Climco Coils	Ignitions Coils	100
Vegter Steel	Steel Fabrication	46
Superwash, Inc.	Carwash, Corp. Office	30
The City Rebar	Steel Construction	22

Source: Department of Commerce and Community Affairs

Retail Sales and “Pull Factors”

		Retail Sales (2010)				Income-Adjusted Pull Factor
Store Group		Number		% of Total Sales
Total Retail Sales		$67,775,117		100.0		0.39
Gasoline Stations Stores		$17,868,615		26.4		0.82
General Merchandise Stores		$11,838,655		17.5		0.59
Food Services and Drinking Places		$13,022,440		19.2		0.46
Sporting Goods Stores		$587,818		0.9		0.33
Food and Beverage Stores		$9,464,259		14.0		0.32
Building Materials and Garden Stores		$1,778,631		2.6		0.31
Health and Personal Care Stores		$1,901,260		2.8		0.30
Non-Store Retailers		$2,863,759		4.2		0.27
Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores		$1,230,758		1.8		0.27
Miscellaneous Retail Stores		$679,374		1.0		0.26
Motor Vehicles and Parts Dealers		$6,209,802		9.2		0.19
Clothing and Accessories Stores		$247,268		0.4		0.04
Electrical and Appliances Stores		$82,577		0.1		0.02
Sources: ESRI Business Analyst Online, Retail MarketPlace Profile, 2010. Example: Pull factor of .50 indicates that half the sales for that category are going to establishments outside the area. Retail Surplus/Leakage by Store Group
	Retail Sales (2010)
	Potential (Demand)		Actual (Supply)				Surplus/Leakage Factor
Store Group					Retail Gap
Total Retail Sales	$198,787,879		$67,775,117		$131,012,762		49.1
Clothing and Accessories Stores	$8,068,342		$247,268		$7,821,074		94.1
Electrical and Appliances Stores	$2,356,398		$82,577		$2,273,821		93.2
Non-Store Retailers	$21,703,243		$2,863,759		$18,839,484		76.7
Motor Vehicles and Parts Dealers	$38,978,290		$6,209,802		$32,768,488		72.5
Building Materials and Garden Stores	$7,010,530		$1,778,631		$5,231,899		59.5
Food and Beverage Stores	$30,133,487		$9,464,259		$20,669,228		52.2
Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores	$3,724,082		$1,203,758		$2,493,324		50.3
Miscellaneous Retail Stores	$1,693,347		$679,374		$1,013,973		42.7
Food Services and Drinking Places	$27,713,086		$13,022,440		$14,690,646		36.1
Health and Personal Care Stores	$4,015,076		$1,901,260		$2,113,816		35.7
General Merchandise Stores	$20,163,386		$11,838,655		$8,324,731		26.0
Gasoline Stations Stores	$32,517,349		$17,868,516		$14,648,833		29.1
Sporting Goods Stores	$711,263		$587,818		$123,445		9.5
Sources: ESRI Business Analyst Online, Retail MarketPlace Profile, 2011. Closer to 100 means sales expectations are being met within Western Whiteside.

Location Quotients

Whiteside County, Illinois NAICS Industry Classification	Location Quotient
	2002	2007	2009
332 – Fabricated Metal Products Manufacturing	6.3	6.5	7.2
333 – Machinery Manufacturing	2.4	1.5	1.8
334 – Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing	0.9	1.6	1.3
335 – Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing	8.6	15.7	18.8
441 – Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers	1.1	1.2	1.3
445 – Food and Beverage Stores	0.9	1.3	1.2
447 – Gasoline Service Stations	1.2	1.5	1.1
452 – General Merchandise Stores	2.0	2.5	2.8
484 – Truck Transportation	0.9	1.3	1.2
611 – Educational Services	3.7	4.0	3.7
622 – Hospitals	1.0	1.2	1.2
623 – Nursing and Residential Care Facilities	2.1	2.2	2.2
811 – Repair and Maintenance Services	1.6	1.4	1.5
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI), Q1 2002, Q1 2007, Q1 2009. Note: The Location Quotient (LQ) is a ratio that allows an area’s distribution of employment by industry to be compared to a reference or base area’s distribution. In this table, the distribution of employment in Whiteside County is compared to the U.S. national data. Location Quotients greater than one indicates a higher local concentration and a likelihood of exports from the county. A ratio of less than one may suggest goods or services are being imported into Whiteside County